Titanium or Stainless

B

bk83gold

New member
Hello guys,
I have both a Ruger GP100 and a Smith 386sc titanium mountain lite. They are chambered for 357 magnum. I know the GP100 is built solid. The Smith feels like a toy. I have spoken to a few gun shops and they say that the Titanium guns are stronger than the Stainless one. What do you all think. I enjoy shooting both so its not a matter of should I sell one or not, it is simply the fact I want to know which one should I shoot for target practice and run 400 rds though or are they both capible of doing so.

Happy Shooting,
Brandon

New to the forum also :D
 
I will defer to the mechanical engineers, metallurgists and gunsmiths here, but I believe it is accurate to say that in many applications, titanium is stronger yet more lightweight than stainless steel, generally speaking. Now the overall strength of a firearm is dependent on more than what metal it is constructed of. The engineering, design, lockwork and other facets of a revolver also play a major role in the strength of a firearm.

Having said all that, and owning both stainless and titanium revolvers, either model you cite is more than strong enough to run 400 rounds through at a session. I would bet, however, that by the time you fire 50 .357 rounds through the lighter titanium revolver, you will probably have had enough. So from that standpoint, your tolerance will be the limiting factor, rather than the strength of the revolver.

But for overall reliability year in and year out, I would vote for the Ruger. And I own both Ruger and S&W revolvers.
 
Yeah, titanium is "stronger" in most cases, assuming the ruger is made out of a 300 series steel. Ti is not as "stiff" though, which can cause it's own problems.

The exceptions include 17-4ph or some other precipitation hardening SS like a Rohrbaugh. Those can be just as "strong" and have double the "stiffness" as Ti. I doubt the Ruger is 17-4ph though.

All the stiffness and strength considerations can be overcome by adding more girth.
 
The 386 isn't titanium. It is primarily scandium reinforced aluminum with a Ti cylinder and other parts.

The statement might have been true if we were talking about a Ti revolver vs. a stainless revolver, but we aren't. There is no way a 386 is as tough as the Ruger.
 
I'd read up on the cleaning procedures required for titanium and scandium revolvers. There's been a lot of talk about damaging the finish on these handguns from using improper cleaning procedures and solvents.
 
I will read up on the cleaning of a Scandium and Titaninum gun. I sure don't want to damage it.

I did realize that the 386 was Scandium and Titanium. I use my Ruger for target shooting and my 386 for carry. There are time I want to go out and shoot the heck out of both guns. I was making sure that both could handle constant shooting and such. I think both guns have there place. Thanks for the help.

Brandon
 
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